A powerlifting belt helps to push your one repetitions maximum and train harder for longer. Therefore it is a good tool to have to push yourself. Act wisely and don’t put it on too often so that your core still gets trained. 

 

Before we go into the details of why you should wear a powerlifting belt, let me ask you a couple of question:

 

 

These questions will make all the difference between your success and failure. Research shows that successful people write down their goals and reflect on them. So get a pen and paper and get going. Most people go about their lives like this: 

 

 

This is a very good way to drown yourself in stress. What you want changes hundreds of times a day. It highly depends on who you are with, where you are and what you do. Making this the center of attention will spread your resources thin and scatter your time between too many activities. The result will be unhappiness and getting nothing done. Something interesting happens when you flip these questions on their head: 

 

 

This way your innermost desires will take center stage. Your actions and thoughts will become more connected and success more likely. If you want to know how this works on a psychological level read Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Simon Sinek's TED talk on the golden circle will change your life. 

 

A great start is to keep daily track of your goals and activities. The best tool for this that I could find is the self journal from best self. Since I use it my marriage has improved and my salary has increased by 30%. 

 

Powerlifting is the sport of the total. Your total consists of three lifts. These lifts are the squat, bench press and deadlift. For each lift, you get three attempts. The best attempt will be counted towards your result. Based on the sum of the best three lifts you will be ranked against your competitors. You have to count in one Bench press, squat and deadlift. 

 

A big difference to lifting in the gym is that you will be judged. Three referees will check whether our lifts have been performed according to standards. Two out of three have to agree so that the lift counts. 

 

Your total usually splits into 40/40/20. The squat and deadlift contribute 40% each while the bench press adds 20%. The numbers vary per lifter but hold generally true. 

 

To really do your best in competition you will wear a belt. It also can help in training to train harder for longer. Therefore a belt is highly recommended to become a great powerlifter. 

 

There are some main types of belts which are 

 

 

Lever belts are at the top of the food chain and usually set you back $120 to $150. A lever belt usually has 13mm of thickness and is specially designed for powerlifting purposes. The lever mechanism makes it easy for one individual lifter to get the belt tight and reopened quickly. This is the most efficient way for individual use. The downside is that lever belts are not great to be used for weightlifting. They are usually too cumbersome and the lever gets in the way of the Olympic lifts. 

 

Leather belts are another option which usually put you back somewhere between $100 to $130. Leather belts usually come in a single prong or double prong variations. The single prong is easier to get on and off. The double prong is usually smaller and leaves you with more freedom to move while it is annoying to buckle them up. 

 

Nylon belts are a compromise between leather belts and Velcro belts. They are usually considerably cheaper than their leather counterparts and tailor around $30 to  $50. These belts are great to take care of mower back fatigue in CrossFit workouts including lifts. The powerlifting belts are usually too cumbersome to move quickly in them and for sets of tens or amrap effort, you do not necessarily need maximum support. 

 

The last item is Velcro belts which are also the cheapest. These are the best fit if you are in rehab and need gentle support to get back into shape. The use of these belts is more medical in nature than performance enhancing. 

 

A powerlifting belt will help you to lift more weight. This i why you want to use it for your training efforts.